Jane Brown of Lane Powell PC writes that hackers have upped the ante from the “good old days:”
…. A case with espionage, extortion and pseudonyms is a sign of things to come.
Wire Swiss GmbH (Wire Swiss) is currently seeking a declaratory judgment and alleges civil extortion against its competitor, Quiet Riddle Ventures dba Open Whisper Systems, and Moxie Marlinspike.[3] The litigants develop end-to-end encrypted messaging software. Wire Swiss claims the defendants threatened to accuse Wire Swiss of infringing on copyrighted software code and publicize “vulnerabilities” in the security of Wire Swiss’ encryption software. Wire Swiss’ payment of a $2 million licensing fee would prevent the threatened action. Wire Swiss claims that the specter of publication of security vulnerabilities in its encryption software could cause catastrophic damage to its reputation. Wire Swiss further claims that the defendants’ threat coincided with the announcement that their Signal software had been incorporated into the WhatsApp messaging application. If true, the plaintiff’s allegations are a prime example of how data saboteurs profit from their hacks. This case may also be fodder for legislation to create a safe harbor for security self-evaluation.
Read more on JD Supra.